


The Age of Tony Stark (Perspective: Captain America)

by TheArcReactor (Ashkka)



Series: Marvel One-Shots [3]
Category: Avengers Assemble (Cartoon), Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Arc Reactor, Arc Reactor Issues, Avengers Family, Avengers Tower, Episode: s0207 The Age of Tony Stark, Infinity Gems, Iron Kid, M/M, Pre-Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Protective Avengers, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark Friendship, Time Stone, Time Travel, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-11-08 07:26:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11076834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashkka/pseuds/TheArcReactor
Summary: After successfully getting their hands on the infinity stone, Steve realizes that having such a powerful artifact is no easy task...especiallyif it's stuck in your best friend's arc reactor and spawning monsters from different eras all over New York.A rewrite of Avengers Assemble Season 2, episode 7 from the perspective of Captain America - deleted scenes included!





	The Age of Tony Stark (Perspective: Captain America)

**Author's Note:**

> I have to admit that I really enjoyed doing this! I'm considering doing more of these "different perspective" writings. '' This has always been one of my favorite episodes because it brings out a humanity to the characters that you don't see very often. I thought, at first, that this could possibly be too long for one chapter, but then I realized that a _lot_ of people know this story so there wouldn't be much suspense.  
>  _There's a touch of Steve/Tony but no sexual content; this is closer to the 'pre' part of their relationship_  
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> _Disclaimer is in the ending notes_
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It had been years since he'd been awakened from ice and Steve Rodgers had still kept himself hidden from love.  

 

* * *

 

The Quinjet roared through the sky, shredding clouds in its wake. In the few years that he'd been awakened from the ice, Steve Rodgers had grown accustomed to the frequent trips in the vehicle. The way that it moved through the air, the smoothness of its flight... it was a dream compared to the planes that he'd ridden in. The old rattleboxes that he'd used for transportation were rickety and cold, full of noises and potential instability. But of course, this was Stark's ride, both constructed and designed by the billionaire, so it had to be virtually flawless.  

Steve sat at one side of the large conference table, listening to the idle conversation. The team was in full gear, ready to take on the mission at hand. Earlier that day, he, Tony, and Clint had all gone to pay their "best friend", Red Skull, a visit. The result: the recovery of crucial information concerning the infinity stones that the villain had lost (several days) earlier. In all of his madness, the man had drawn a massive diagram on the wall, covering its whole expanse in incomprehensible amounts of scribbling and random words. Somehow, through all that brain-fried gibberish, Tony had discovered something...and had to repeat it fifty times over for the rest of the team.

 

 _"Reality, mind, power, space, and time,"_ muttered Tony, fumbling his way through another scan of Red Skull's artwork.

 

" _Reality, mind... space-_ "  

 

"Heard you the first ten billion times," Clint groaned, propping his chin on his elbow. The man had been fiddling with his arrows for the last ten minutes, somehow managing to stay quiet. Now, it seemed, he was making a dramatic return.

"Is that a list of all the subjects you're a doctorate in?" He grumbled, rolling his eyes, "because you've been going on for almost an hour now."

Personally, Steve had tuned out the genius a long time ago, ignoring the man's rambling.

Tony pulled up images of the diagram, sending a holographic projection of it to each person at the table. Steve eyed the picture curiously. It was incredible that Tony had been able to read _anything_ in all of the jumbled messages there. Now that each word was bolded, it was much easier to discern, but back in the cell, there had been much more interference. 

 

 _Somehow_ , Red Skull had figured it out! Apparently, cosmic-brain-fried Skull wasn't stupid after all. 

 

"They're the powers of the five infinity stones," replied Tony, unfazed by Clint's tone of voice, "we've been looking at this all wrong! It's not _where_ the time stone is-"

"-but _when_ it is!" Falcon finished, "awesome!" 

Tony raised his eyebrows at Falcon, _duh_. The kid simply shrugged back. To Steve, it looked as though the two were sharing some kind of inside joke. He chose not to pry. After all, they were both geniuses and table was crazy enough _without_ his input. Instead, he simply eyed the diagram.

"This thing had better not send us into the past! I never want to relive grade school!" Clint shivered, making a strangling noise, "uggghh."

Steve sighed. And put his face in his hands. Of all things, Clint was worried about _gradeschool_? Was there anything that the man wouldn't joke about? He recalled all of the latest missions with the team. On every single one, Clint had managed to crack some kind of joke. He had to hand it to the man, sometimes a good joke was what the team needed. It was all too easy to fall into a cycle of pain, misery, and depression. 

While Clint, Sam, and Tony were talking, Thor and Hulk had been engaged in their own little world, clearly at ease with the situation. Both were laughing, trying, but failing to suppress their mirth. Steve had half a mind to ask about what they were talking about. Just as the words were on the tip of his tongue, he changed course.

"It couldn't have been that bad, Hawkeye!" Steve said, "I try to draw strength from my past."  

That fit the situation _much_ better.

Clint choked back, "you have no idea-"

"History is filled with glory!" Thor boomed, raising his hammer, jumping back into the conversation as Hulk finished speaking.

 

_Typical Thor to be the one to point out the positive side of things._

 

"You kidding?" Tony cut in, smirking. Then he said, more seriously, "history is a series of bad ideas that we're now improving on!" He shut down the holograms and leaned in, meeting Steve's eye. Metal armor grated against the table, making a soft clanking sound. The suit hummed slightly.

"Come on Tony, even you have to see value in where you come from" Steve interjected, feeling mildly annoyed at the his attitude. The man could at least have a little more respect for his past. But, knowing the man, there was always a reason for him to not want to think of his background. After all, the origin of Iron Man was not exactly a joyful one. The files that SHIELD had on the 

"I'm a man of the future, you're a nostalgic guy, it's ok, it keeps you interesting," Tony said, a smile dancing on his face. He stood up from the table, ending the conversation. Opening a panel in his forearm, he pulled up the image of the diagram once more. 

 

 _Only you would say that Tony,_ Steve thought, _only you_. The monitor beeped, announcing their arrival at the destination. 

 

"Fascinating conversation, but we're here!" Natasha called from the cockpit. Her tone was sarcastic.

 

"Meet you up on the roof!" Said Tony, the suit's faceplate coming down with a soft  _clang_. 

"Why the roof?" Demanded Clint, but Natasha was already dragging him away towards an access hatch. 

Opening the main cargo bay for the others, Steve followed the pair up the ladder and through the small metal hatch.

Natasha had already gone up with Clint, leaving the shaft clear of people. Slowly, almost reluctantly, Steve took hold of the bottom, and began pulling himself up.

As he approached the top of the ladder, he craned his neck to see out. The Quinjet was hovering about five-thousand feet off the ground, casting a small blotchy shadow against the ocean far below. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. For as far as the eye could see, there was blue sky and beautiful white clouds. 

 

_Hmm... I wonder how long that will last?_

 

* * *

 

 

As he came to stand with the rest of the team, Steve watched Tony glide overhead. Coming to hover in a spot to his left, Tony held out his armored hand, "okay, if my calculations are correct -and _of course_ , they are- the timestone should reappear right here... in 3, 2, 1."  

It was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. The whole team seemed to be holding its breath in anticipation. Steve's heart was pounding against his ribs. _This was their chance!_ He struggled to keep the emotion out of his expression.  

There was a faint popping sound and a glowing gem appeared in the armored man's palm, "aaaand look at that!" 

The red-gold of the paint reflected the orange light of the gen with a gleaming that resembled fire. Even though it was one of the most deadly forces in the world, Steve had to admit that it was quite a beautiful thing. 

Inwardly, Steve sighed with relief. The infinity stones were powerful, far more powerful than the average power source. In the wrong hands, they could prove deadly. Now that they had one, one that could wreak havoc about the world in milliseconds, there was a little more breathing room to be had.

 

"Right again," Tony said, proudly. Someone audibly sighed behind Steve. Judging by the voice, he guessed Clint. 

 

There was another moment of silence, but this time it was shattered by a much more deadly sound. With a loud humming and a crunch of metal, the gemstone flickered for a moment before shooting forward, right at Tony's chest. Instead of glancing off of Iron Man's armor -as expected- the gem met the suit with a loud _crack_ , puncturing the glass of the arc reactor's exterior, before embedding itself inside. 

Tony lurched backward and toppled from his post, all the while yelling,"aaah! Why do I always have to be right?"

 

Everyone stood there, frozen, listening as Tony howled commands and received zero response. 

 

"Jarvis, REBOOT!"

" _Jarvisssss_!" 

 

" _Tony_!" Cap yelled, finally finding his voice. He ran towards the edge of the Quinjet, only stopping when he was practically hanging off the side. Tony had, by this time, fallen below the jet and out of sight. Terror rose in his throat as he saw the frozen figure plummet through the air. The Iron Man suit could take a hit, he'd seen Tony plowing through buildings and other obstructions without a problem. That did not mean anything, however, for every 

"Anyone want to play catch the genius? My power's out!" Tony yelled, his voice echoing oddly in the air. 

"I got him!" Thor announced, and spun his hammer. Once the weapon became a silvery blur in the air, he leaped off the jet, diving at an incredible speed to catch up with the falling man. 

"This is why Asgardian armor requires no batteries!" The warrior gloated, as he plunged downwards.

Steve couldn't hear a response from Tony, but he was sure it was something quite sarcastic. 

 

There was a clang of metal hitting metal and a rush of air, then Tony was crashing onto the deck plating. With a groan, the man tried to move. In any normal situation, there might have been laughter, for it was quite a comical scene. Even with three grown men, successfully moving the suit smoothly would present a challenge.  

Steve knelt down and examined the new hole in the suit. It was nasty, he saw that some of the chunks of glass had entered the suit, falling through the chest piece and into the inner layers of the armor. The timestone had gone all the way through the outer casing, embedding itself deep inside the machinery of the arc reactor. Steve had a sinking feeling as he realized that the jewel was no longer in sight. All that he could see was an orange glow, lighting up the reactor like a Christmas ornament.

"Heh, at least we weren't zapped back in time" Clint sniffed, "you'd all hate my grade school!" 

"You alright?" Asked Steve, ignoring Clint, frowning at the shattered glass.

There was a pause, then Tony's voice floated up from the inside of the suit.

"Y-yeah, I think so, the reactor still seems to be working... but I need to get back to the tower."

Steve could hear the strain in his voice and felt sympathy bubbling inside of him.

 

_Damn it, Tony, just tell me how you're really feeling._

 

Inside of the suit, Tony let out a soft yelp, making Steve snap back to reality.

 

_What...?_

 

There was a loud explosion of noise, making everyone jump in surprise. Orange bands of energy were expanding outwards, originating from the timestone. That, however was not the most shocking part of the occurrence. From within the waves of orange light, a group of strange-looking, flying, reptiles appeared. 

"Dinosaur attack? NO thank you!" Clint howled as one of the Pterodactyls grabbed him around the waist with its sharp claws. Without barely any hesitation, the large beast took off into the sky, carrying the screaming human being along with it.  

 

"Oh okay, what's next? _Prom_?" Bow in hand, Clint squirmed, the doppler effect only adding the comedy to his yell. 

Hulk grinned and cracked his knuckles, his big green biceps rippling with power, "love dinosaur attacks," he rumbled.  With a roar, he pushed off, grabbing hold of an unsuspecting Pterodactyl. The weight of the Hulk dragged the dinosaur downwards and severely off course. 

A Pterodactyl lunged for Tony, claws extended. Steve leaped into action.

"Oh no you don't!" He growled and smashed his shield into the dino's face.

Blood trickling from the beast's mouth, it lunged for Steve. With a monstrous shove, Steve pushed the Pterodactyl off the Quinjet. He watched it until the beast hit the water with a large splash. Turning, he was just able to catch a view of Clint falling into Hulk's arms from the talons of a large Pterodactyl. The man cried out and squirmed to get out of the grasp of the big green Avenger.

"AAHHHH!" The archer howled as Hulk dropped him, "see Cap? _This_ is why I hate the past!" In one fluid motion, the man drew an arrow and shot a net over three dinosaurs that were attempting to break into the cockpit of the Quinjet.

"You can return your prom talks, Hawkeye," Sam's voice flooded the comms, "according to my data, we're still  in the present."

"Looks like someone forgot to tell them!" Natasha snarled back, clearly in combat.

"If we're not in the past, then where'd these things come from?" Steve asked, standing near the edge of the Quinjet, surveying the scene in front of him, "the savage land?"

 

No one responded, but they all had a fairly good idea of where the strange beasts had come from.

 

"Hah! I haven't fought a dinosaur in weeks!" Thor boomed loudly, making Steve wince. For some reason, the man's voice was always ten times louder on the comms than normal. He mentally reminded himself to have Tony look into the issue... _if_ they survived this...

It was as though a silence had taken over the entire area, descending like a wave. Most of the dinosaurs had either given up fighting or had fallen into the water below. Slowly, the Avengers grouped back together on the Quinjet.

"What was that?" Asked Sam, coming out of the Quinjet, "what the _hell_ -"

 

There was a soft whine and the timestone started to glow again.

Steve froze and Natasha groaned.

"Ugh, not again!" Tony cried, his voice tight.

 

Orange light bathed the area, but this time nothing appeared. Curiously, Steve crept to the edge of the Quinjet and looked down.

 

The dinosaurs were gone.

 

"Any explanations, Einstein?" Natasha said, hands on her hips. She glared down at Tony.

Steve moved forwards to stand with her, staring down at the faceplate. He tried to imagine what Tony's expression would be and failed. There was no telling what was going through that man's head.

 

"Either we just stumbled into some awesome amusement park, or I accidentally ripped a hole through the fabric of time," the man responded, sheepishly.

"Can you repair the rifts?" Asked Steve, frowning at the man's humor.

"Have you met me? Of course I can!" Tony squawked, his speaker crackling, "just gotta get the stone out of my arc reactor!"

 

Steve raised his eyebrows.

 

_Broken speaker?_

 

Thor, who had risen into a low hover over them, held out his arm and clenched his fist with a determined look in his eye.

"Reboot!" He said, "these are the time that you proclaim, REBOOT!"

Steve could have even told the Asgardian that just saying the words to a dead suit wouldn't make a difference. He refrained from speaking, but rather rubbed the bridge of his nose.

 

"Tried that," Tony replied, his voice tight again, "didn't work!"

A series of thuds echoed in the air as the genius attempted to move his arm. "Something is seriously wrong," he said, his voice cracking on the word 'seriously'.

If trying to move hadn't gotten the Avengers' attention, that certainly did. They looked at each other at a loss of words.  After a few seconds, Clint finally broke the silence.

 

"Uh yeah, with your voice!" The archer ventured, "is there a problem with your speaker?"

 

Tony cleared his throat loudly, the sound reverberating inside of the metal shell he wore, "ahem, _better_?"

 

The Avengers exchanged another long look.

 

"Uh, nope!" Clint said.

 

* * *

 

After several minutes of (awkward) discussion, the team finally agreed that taking the stone, and Tony, directly back to the tower was the best option. Clint had suggested that they could extract the stone from the arc reactor right then and there, but Steve had quickly shot that idea down. With Natasha's skill and experience, they might have been able to have her extract the stone from the suit without problem, but without proper equipment it would be risky. The counter had been that bringing the stone into the city would cause mass chaos. There was no telling how much damage the time "rifts" could do... It had been a strong point, but the overwhelming vote against it had taken it off the table rather quickly.

So, Steve found himself sitting back at the conference table, watching Tony's immobile form being dragged to a makeshift stretcher in the corner nearby. It pained him to watch, though he would have found it to be quite comical at one point in time. Tony was a headstrong, ego-driven man, stuck in the equivalent of a four-hundred-pound sardine-can.  

Surprisingly, he hadn't complained much. Clint had joked that maybe the genius had fallen asleep. Steve knew better though. Whether Tony liked it or not, he was stuck there. Most likely, the man was fighting an internal battle between himself and his pride.

 

The flight back was painfully long. Steve guessed that it was the apprehension that filled the jet. No one knew what they would find when they reached the city.  _Had the rifts all been a localized event? Had dinosaurs hit the city too?_  

All he knew was that it was like before the gem had appeared:

 

Silent.

 

Upon reaching the tower, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, Clint most prominently. With a dramatic sigh, the archer had leaned back against the jet's hull.

 

"What?" Came Tony's metallic voice, " _what_?"

"You are so damn lucky," Natasha said, "no dinosaurs hit the city."

"Good," came the reply, sounding relieved.

 

The job of carrying the stretcher came down to Steve and Thor. Between the two of them, it was easy. The only difficulty that they faced was whenever they went around a corner, or up a set of steps. As the stretcher was built for a normal person, without armor, it was burdened and threatened to give at any time. Thor had voiced this concern early on, but neither of them had said anything since.

As soon as Tony's workshop came into view, Steve breathed a sigh of relief.

 

_Finally!_

 

With a loud clanking of metal on metal, Thor lifted Tony and dropped him on the table. Judging by the grunt and angry outburst, it had been a rough landing.

Sam, who had followed them into the room, pulled a chair from a nearby workstation. Behind him, the other Avengers filed in like kids entering a classroom.

 

"Jarvis, what are we looking at?" Tony's voice came from the suit. 

" _The armor is perfectly functional, sir, but it does not recognize your specific body signature_ ," the AI responded flatly, " _it thinks someone else is in the armor._ "

 

_What?_

 

Steve looked from the monitor, where a system diagnostic was flashing, to the genius lying on the table. There appeared to be no change from earlier, not that he could see much.

"That makes no sen-" He started, but Tony cut him off.

"Who does it think I am?" The man snapped, "get it off me! I'm so done with this!"

"Don't you think you're being a little impatient?" Steve shot back, surprised by the other man's tone.

 

_What's wrong with him? He sounds like a child!_

 

"You get trapped in a tin can, let's see how patient you are!" Tony huffed, "Hulk. Faceplate. Off. Now."

"It's gonna get crushed!" Hulk warned, sounding defensive. Everyone knew that the big green Avenger had a tendency to "accidentally" smash things.

"I don't care, just get it off me!" Tony spat, almost shouting.

Steve moved out of the way as Hulk leaned forwards and gripped the faceplate with one giant hand. With a sound of crunching metal, he pulled upwards, detaching the plate, then proceeded to crush it into a small metallic ball.

 

Everyone froze.

 

"Tony's beard!" Thor exclaimed, voicing everyone's surprise.

 

Steve could have laughed,  it was more or less Tony's _lack of_ a beard. Instead of the Tony Stark they all knew, they were faced with a smooth-faced adolescent. It was quite a change, though there were still faint traces of the Stark they all knew left in the young boy's face.

Dum-E lowered a small mirror over the table, low enough for Tony to get a good look at himself. He gasped.

"Worst. Day. Ever."

 

* * *

 

Steve stared down at Tony, his mind trying to grasp the situation. It was clear that there was another, and quite unexpected, side-effect of having the timestone lodged in one's chest.

" _It appears you've reverse-aged into a teenager, sir,_ " Jarvis mused, sounding almost human.

"I have eyes, Jarvis." Tony said, shock etched into every feature in his face.

A soft chuckle came from beside Steve and he stuck out his elbow, catching Clint in the ribs. With a grunt, the archer fell silent, folding his arms over his chest in an attempt to stay composed.

 

" _You wanted to know why the armor did not recognize you. It was designed for an adult Tony Stark,_ " Jarvis continued, " _how is it that you phrase it? 'you don't size up?'"_

Tony let out a harsh laugh which turned into a grimace almost immediately as an orange glow began to emanate from his chest. A low hum filled the air and everyone moved over to shield their eyes.

 

It was over as soon as it began.

As the light died away, Steve blinked and turned back to Tony. His heart leaped into his throat. _Was it his imagination, or did the man- no, kid- look even younger?_

Dum-E brought the mirror down again and Tony let out a cry.

"What's causing these shifts?" Steve demanded, but he got only shrugs, "his arc reactor is attached to his heart, maybe his heart rate causes it?"

"Not worried about the _why_ , guys!" Tony yelled, "more worried about the _how_ do I stop this? These time blasts have to stop before I -wait! is that a zit?" He tried to lean in towards the mirror but was pinned down by the suit.

"Every time that the stone de-ages you, the temporal waves bring in stuff from different eras," Sam said, his voice tight. He was hunched over one of the portable monitors, watching the news feed. When he turned back to face them, his face was contorted into an expression of concern.

"...what kind of stuff?" Clint asked, as though afraid of an answer. He was fingering his bow, running his fingers up and down the string.

Sam pressed a button on the monitor and images filled the screens across the room. Screams filled the speakers as the team watched the feed.

It was as Steve had feared: chaos in the city.

A large dinosaur was trampling through central park, while several more of the creatures stormed through the streets.

"Oh, a T-Rex!" Hulk commented as he watched the chaos, "I'm in. Anyone else wanna go smash some dinos?" He pounded his fists together excitedly.

"Uhhh, ok, maybe this  _is_ worse than gradeschool," Clint whispered.

"Alright," said Steve, "Hulk, Thor, and Widow, you're taking care of the streets. Hawkeye, Falcon, take the ones in the park. Once that's clear, you're on crowd control until civilians are clear in the streets. I'm going to stay with Tony and see if I can do anything. Everyone keep an open comm, we can't risk missing anything."

The team nodded and dispersed.

 

* * *

 

There was an awkward period where Tony and Steve just stared at each other.

Dropping all pretense, Steve came forwards and pushed Dum-E out of the way to look into the boy's eyes.

"Are you alright?" Steve asked, softly.

Tony's 'brave face' began to diminish and he looked back into Steve's eyes. He had spirit, Steve knew that, but sometimes the man needed a friend, someone to confide in. All too often, Steve had found himself sitting in the genius's lab, doing just that or listening to what the other had to say. They shared a unique bond, the two of them did, through experience and their work through the Avengers. It wasn't easy, and sometimes it came back to bite them.

"I think so..." Tony replied, "I would like to get out of this suit though..." His voice dropped off and he turned his face away from Steve's.

"Let's get you out of there then," said Steve, scratching the back of his head absently, "what can I do?"

After getting instructions from Tony, Steve turned his back. He could only do so much. Jarvis had linked several of the automated robots to take off the armor. Going from the attitude of a small boy, to a bossy thirty year-old in a manner of seconds, Tony had told Steve to 'go away'.

Steve, compromising his feelings with Tony's, he had agreed to go watch the team on the monitors.

"Thor, six o'clock!" Cap, watching Thor through a screen. There was a T-Rex right behind the Asgardian. Steve internally winced as the great jaws of the beast closed on the man's arm. With a burst of laughter, braced the beast's jaws with his hammer.

 _"I so enjoy this! Haha, perhaps there is no need to repair the timestone after all!_ " Thor cried into the comms, laughing the whole time. Steve clapped his hand to his ear.

"There's more at stake than bashing dinosaurs!" Steve said, only to go half-deaf at the static that came back through.

" _Turn down your damn voic input_!" Came Natasha's indignant yell, " _you're going to make us all go deaf, Thor!"_

 

There was a crash from behind him and Steve turned to face the disturbance. Tony was standing atop the workbench, dressed in shorts and a baggy T-Shirt. The suit was in pieces all around him.

Steve studied him for a moment. Tony looked so young, his hair in a fluffy mess above his head. His build was much like Steve's had been as a kid: Thin and wiry. Large brown eyes looked down at him balefully. Holding up his hands, Tony groaned.

"Being like this reminds me..." He looked up at Steve, then shook his head, "never mind."

Raising his eyebrows, Steve crossed his arms.

Tony shook his head again and sat down hard, picking up one of the suit's gauntlets, which seemed rather large against his smaller form.

He sighed and began to tinker with it.

 

It went on for some time: Steve watching the monitors and Tony sitting there, tinkering.

Steve watched Thor and Hulk tear up the street, battling dinosaur after dinosaur. Sam and Clint had cleared up Central Park a while ago, and had proceeded to help get people away from the combat in the streets. Natasha was a bit of both, riding around on her speeder.

 

_They don't need my help._

 

He turned back to Tony, sighing. It was certainly a dull point of the day.

Tony was sitting on the workbench, holding his new project. It was a miniaturized Iron Man gauntlet, shaped to fit his smaller form.

"I don't need a babysitter, Cap! I'm still brilliant, even if I'm a teenager!" The boy said, holding up his work, eyeballing it.

"I'm not babysitting, I'm here to help!" Steve argued, "You-"

"-don't need it!" Tony interrupted, about to insert his hand into a miniaturized Iron man gauntlet, "watch this!" 

Steve stepped forwards, holding out his arm in a cautious manner,"are you _sure_ this is a good idea?" He asked.

"Yes... _maybe_ " Tony "I've never had a timestone stuck in my chest before. but whatever! here we go!" 

Before Steve could open his mouth to speak, the boy stuck his hand inside the gauntlet. With a loud crackling, electricity sparked all along the armor, making the kid's hair stand on end. Tony let out an earsplitting screech before pulling his hand out of the armor and chucking it across the room. The metal it the wall with a loud _clang_ and fell to the floor. 

"Why'd you let me do that!" Tony screamed, shaking his hand frantically, as though trying to get feeling back into it.

Trying to keep his exasperation behind a blank expression, Steve took a deep breath.

"I _tried_ to warn you!" He said evenly.

"-don't... act like my dad!" Tony replied, leaning away from him, "he thought you were so awesome that I should just be like you!"

Steve opened his mouth to reply, but then closed it. 

Tony was on a roll, "but guess what? I'm not the great captain America-" 

There was a deep humming and Steve stepped forwards, grasping the small boy's shoulder with his hand. 

When the orange light faded from around them, Steve found himself facing an even-younger Tony Stark.

"I need your help, Cap!" Said Tony, before clapping a hand to his mouth. His voice was quite high, now resembling a seven-eight year-old's.

An explosion shook the tower, making Steve abruptly release Tony and spring to the nearby monitor.

More dinosaurs had appeared.  

The Avengers, on the comms, were all moaning and groaning as a whole flock of Pterodactyls burst into view. 

Thor lead a few of them into the range of the tower's defenses. Even with the defenses in place, three or four of the flying beasts managed to collide with the structure, making the building shake. The cameras went haywire for a moment, temporarily blinding Steve's view. 

"Uh, Thor, lead them _away_ from the building!" Steve shouted as the floor shook. 

" _That is a superior plan_!" Thor called back, his mic crackling like a blown speaker. 

 

Several minutes pass in in silence. All that could be heard was the soft crackle of Tony's machinery, fusing two plates of armor together. 

Steve watched Tony with a feeling of protectiveness that he couldn't describe. Maybe it was seeing Tony as a child...

Apparently satisfied with whatever he had been working on, he slid the face shield that he'd been wearing.

Remebering last time that Tony had been 'happy' with his work, Steve approached the boy. He held up the armor for Steve to see, excitement in his face.

"I think I got it!" Tony exclaimed.

Steve knelt down so that they were at eye level.

"You _think_ you got this?" He asked and when the boy nodded, he smiled.

The smile was quickly wiped from his face when Tony tested the device. The moment that Tony gave it power, the machine whirred and showered the pair of them with sparks.

Tony reeled backwards, throwing the gauntlet for the second time that day, and rubbing his left eye where a spark had flown into it.

"Ugh, why can't I get this to work?" He whined, "this is _SO_ lame!"

Pity stabbed Steve's heart, watching his friend having such trouble. As an adult Tony, the genius would have just kept plowing on, but with the patience and attitude of an eight year-old...

"Try to have _patience_ , Tony!" Steve said, laying a hand on the boy's small shoulder, "you've got this!" 

There was a deep rumble and the tower shook. Somehow this blast sounded closer. 

" _Young sir, there is an intrusion in holding cell four!_ " Jarvis's urgent voice cut through the air.

"I'll handle it!" Steve said, readying his shield, "focus on rebuilding that armor! Also put that earpiece back in, you need to be in contact while I'm gone!"

Tony nodded and picked up the abandoned com-link. His eyes were wide and scared.

As Steve was turning, on of the monitors beeped. He peered at the screen. His worst fears were confirmed when he saw the empty cell. 

 

_Red Skull!_

 

In record time, ignoring the lifts and vaulting down the stairwells, Steve reached the detention area.

Red Skull was gone, replaced by a pile of rubble. The side of the cell was in ruins, clearly the work of something large...

"Avengers, we have a breach!" He cried into the comms, "we-"

A deep rumbling made him pause. It was coming from behind him. 

 

Steve turned around just in time to see the heavy detention door -which he had just entered through- falling towards him.

 

 _Dinosaurs_!

 

His last thought was of Red Skull. He prayed that Tony would be alright. Then darkness flooded his vision. 

 

\---

 

The first thing he felt was his pounding head and the dust that filled his nose and mouth.

Coughing and spluttering, he tried to sit up. Rubble rained down from his back. Something stopped him about half way up. Turning his head he tried to see what else was on top of him, he winced at the cracks and pops that his neck made.

The great metal doors that had once stood between the detention area and the tower were crushed, the remnants of which were now lying on top of him. 

 

 _Damn_.

 

Grunting with the effort. Steve began to wiggle forwards. The doors were heavy, so heavy that they had him completely pinned down to the ground. The debris, however had created a small gap between him and the floor, with the doors only barely pinning him down. This created the much needed wiggle room, form him to escape.

Army-crawling forwards, he managed to free himself. In one, tremendous effort, he pulled himself out of the rubble.

He rolled over, his head swimming. 

With a burst of energy, he raised his hand to his ear and adjusted the commlink that -thankfully- was still there.

"Tony, report in!" He croaked, his throat dry and cracked from the dust. 

 

He waited.

 

There was no reply.

 

_How long was I out? What happened What..._

 

His earpiece sputtered and a voice crackled into existence, filling the empty air in the detention area. 

" _Rodgers_!" 

It was hard to tell who it was with his muddled brain.

" _Rodgers! Come in Steve!_ " 

 

 _Natasha_!

 

"I copy..." Steve rasped. 

" _What the hell happened!"_ She yelled, " _Tony was screaming a few seconds ago! What is going on up there?_ " 

Steve's heart jumped into his throat and he rolled over onto his stomach, pushing himself onto all fours. As he moved, his arms ached and burned, his lungs filing a similar complaint. 

"We got separated, Red Skull got loose. I got knocked out for a bit. What was Tony saying?" He demanded, "what did you hear?" 

" _He yelled something about Red Skull,_ " Nat replied, her voice still coming with bursts of static. 

" _Yeah_ ," came Sam's voice, " _we're swamped here though, we would have come to help... *fizzing static* -robots._ "

Steve groaned and staggered into a standing position, "mmmphh... robots?" 

" _Yeah_ ," Sam said, his voice faint (Steve guessed that he was flying), " _there was another time anomaly while you were out."_

Steve took a shaky step forwards, feeling his legs turn to jelly as he did so. Shoving the pain and discomfort down into the back of his mind, he began to make his way through the tower.

 

 _Tony was in trouble_. 

 

The silence on the boy's channel was disconcerting, multiplying Steve's doubts, the longer it persisted. 

When Steve reached the lift, there finally came a noise. But it was puzzling. But what made it even stranger was the way that the sound was over the comms...

 _Was that howling_? It was mixed with a soft giggle. 

 

_Tony. There's no doubt about that._

 

The lift doors were closing when a large beast burst through the doors to the stairwell. 

 

_A Bilgesnipe?_

 

Steve couldn't help but stare at the bizzare looking creature. It was about the size of a German Shepard, but had the body of a giant wingless gargoyle. Scales and spiked lined its back and great big horns poked up from its head.

Then the lift doors closed and the Bilgesnipe was hidden from view. 

Steve slumped against the side of the lift and punched the floor that the workshop was on. 

 

_Come on Tony!_

 

It was then that the orange light bathed the air around him in a flash. 

 

 _Crap_.

 

The comms were suddenly flooded with chattering from his teammates.

 

_"-so that's where the lost squadron-"_

_"-damn robots!"_

_"Thor, a little help-"_

 

A high-pitched, cold voice came over the comm, filling the spaces between his teammate's dialogue. 

He knew that voice all too well. 

 

_Skull_

 

Steve slammed his fist against the wall, the lift seemed too slow. 

 

_[3 floors...]_

_[2 floors...]_

[ _1_ _floor_...]

 

The doors of the lift opened up just as his teammate's voices started to die down. The cold words were suddenly audible. 

"- _younger! It's good to be back!_ " 

The words were not of some brain-fried person, Steve realized with dawning horror. _Something_ had happened up there in the workshop, something...

His feet pounding against the tile flooring, Steve tore through the halls. He could now hear Tony on both the comms and in person. 

" _The Avengers will be here any minute to kick your red can!_ " The boy was saying.

" _Your friends are occupied by all the chaos you've created_!" Came the reply, just as Steve slid into the doorway, panting.

"Now-" Skull was holding Tony by the collar of his shirt. The latter was struggling, kicking and wrestling with the strong hands holding him aloft. 

Carefully taking aim, Steve drew back his arm and hurled the shield forwards. The vibranium edge connected with Skull's spine with a loud  _crack._ The villain went face first into the metal work table. 

Tony, who had managed to break loose of the other's grasp before falling, was standing several feet away, dusting himself off. His chest flowed with a faint orange light. He picked up a drill and turned, hastily throwing a few parts together that had not yet been completed. 

 

"Picking on kids? That's a new low! Which is a lot, considering it's you!" Steve spat, looking in disgust at the villain who was quickly recovering from his fall. 

With an animal-like growl, Skull lunged for Tony, catching the boy's left ankle in a vice-like grip. 

As he fell to the ground, Tony spun, lashing out with his free foot. It was thenthat Steve noticed what the boy was wearing for shoes. 

"Jet-skates, deploy!" Tony cried, just as Skull was straightening up. 

 

Tony barrels through Skull, knocking the man flat on his back with a grunt. 

Taking the advangage that Tony had created, Steve leaped on top of Skull, pushing the other man to the ground. His shield pressed to the man's throat, he made the mistake of looking back up at Tony. 

The boy stared back at him with wide eyes, frozen. 

With a muted roar, Skull reared up from the ground, his strength surprising Steve.

Trying to maintain his advantage, Steve threw a punch. He underestimated the other man as Skull dodged and gripped his arm with impossible strength. 

Shock rippling through him, Steve felt his feet leave the ground as Skull flipped him.  

"I have been _waiting_ to do that!" Skull snarls, sending Cap rolling away with a single, well-placed kick. 

Cap threw his shield, clipping Skull in the shoulder and sending him stumbling back from where he had been advancing on Tony.

 

 _Oh no you don't_!

 

Steve looked to the side, watching Tony clamber back to the workbench, drilling and welding in a frenzy as he struggled to finish the suit. 

"Come on, _come_ _on_!" The boy muttered.

Skull jumped at Steve and he ducked down, absorbing the force of the leap and rolling. Unprepared for the dead-weight, Skull stumbled and fell with him. 

They rolled behind the workbench, knocking over tables and sending assorted metal parts flying. 

Skull was strong, much stronger than he had been just a few hours ago. Even with his super-strength, Steve was finding the man to be a challenge.

"The timestone is _mine_!" Skull hissed, his heavily-accented voice dripping.

The villain aimed a right-hook at the side of Steve's face, but the blow missed. 

With a grunt, Steve ducked and ran forwards, holding his shield out in front of him. With a loud  _smack_ , he ran Skull into the wall, pinning him there. The other man flailed and tried to break free, but was trapped. 

"The last place that power belongs, is in _your_ hands!" Steve panted, his fist connecting with Skull's jaw.

Skull grabbed the rim of the shield and forced it up, causing Steve's arm into a very painful angle. As he cried out, Skull pushed off the wall, throwing the shield aside, and landed on top of Steve with his bony hands clawing at the man's throat. 

As Steve choked, grasping at the man's hands, Skull laughed.  

"Now that my mind is returned, you will never contain me again!" He laughed even harder as he took one hand off of Steve's throat, landing blow after blow on the man's face. 

Distantly, Steve could hear Tony's gasp. There was a rushing sound, a sound of jets, and then the weight on his throat vanished. Scrambling into a crouch, Steve looked over his shoulder.

 

_The rocket skates?_

 

Tony was running towards him, clearly wanting to know if he was okay, but Skull, who had been faking a unconscience state, lunged forwards to grab the boy.

Skull was fast, but Steve was faster. 

Just as Skull was about to reach Tony, Steve threw his weight forwards and planted a solid punch straight to the man's face. 

"Right mind or not, you're going back to your cell, Skull." Steve grabbed for the man's wrist, but Skull snatched a chunk of Iron man armor off the floor and decked Steve across the face with it. When Steve hit the floor, he let out a laugh.

The world was fuzzy, like a white haze had fallen over it. Steve shook his head, attempting to clear it. 

 

_Red Skull was advancing towards him, he could see the villain's feet..._

_But wait_...

Skull leaned forwards, towards Steve, but far too high to grab _him_...

 

Skull came back into his field of vision, holding a small, squirming Tony. 

"Let go of me!" The boy screamed, beating at his captor's fists. 

 

 _I failed..._ Steve thought as hewatched the _sc_ ene unfold before him _._

 _I._.. _failed_ _Tony_...

 

"The timestone is mine!" Skull snarled.

The words seemed to echo inside of Steve's head. He tried to move, but his limbs wouldn't respond. 

"As if!" Tony yelled back.

Skull reached forwards, his hand brushing Tony's chest...

" _NOW_!" The boy yelled. The sudden noise was unexpected. It rang through the comms like a dinner bell, and made Skull retreat the hand that he'd been reaching out.

Armor suddenly seemed to fill the room, flying in all directions. Skull was blasted backwards by the force of several pieces of armor. 

Pulling what strength he had left, Steve pulled himself into a sitting position. 

Above him, Tony was suiting up. Sections of armor were coming together, interlocking and fitting into place along his body. Steve looked up at him in awe. This was a sight that he'd never forget. 

 

Skull was on the floor, his face squished into the chest piece. With a loud  _crack,_ he came free. The armor flew up and locked into place across Tony's chest. 

"I am Iron Kid!" Tony yelled, triumphantly. 

"Pathetic!" Skull spat back. 

As the villain lunged for the boy, Tony fired. The repulsors were too strong and he's blown back against the wall, but it did not matter. The weapons did their job. The energy hit the man so hard that it drove a hold straight through the wall and out into the air beyond. Howling, Red Skull vanished. 

Slowly climbing to his feet, Steve made his way over to where Tony had landed. The armor was heavy and the repulsors overpowered for its size. As a result, the boy was slumped against the wall, almost unable to move. 

"Tony, you _ok_?" Steve asked, kneeling down. 

"I'm awesome!" Came the reply he'd hoped for, "uh, can you help me up?" 

A deep humming filled the air again, and Tony hunches over. Steve caught him, preventing the boy from falling forwards onto his face. 

"I-I can't control-" Tony gasped, clutching his chest in panic. 

"Focus Tony, you have the power to stop the time-slip,s" Steve said, shaking him slightly.

"What if it doesn't work? What if I de-age into nothing?" Tony cried out, "what if I destroy the universe?" 

Steve pulled back his hood and laid his other hand on the kid's shoulder. 

"Cap, I'm _scared_!" Tears ran down Tony's cheeks, falling to the ground insmall droplets. 

"There's no need to be, son," The words didn't come out as Steve had intended, but they came out all the same. He wasn't talking to the genius, to the playboy billionaire, or the person that he'd fought with for so long. He was talking to a scared child, a position that he himself had been in, all those years ago. 

"Easy for you to say, you're a big, brave superhero!" Tony sniffed, staring up at him. 

"I was brave a long time before I was captain America," Steve said softly, "and Tony Stark was a hero before he became Iron man." 

 

 _He meant every word_. 

 

Tony looked at the floor, at the tears that had hit the dark tile. Then he leaned forwards and hugged Steve. Even though the boy was wearing armor, there was still a warmth about the embrace. 

Steve sighed and leaned forwards, putting his arms around Tony's narrow shoulders. 

Slowly, his hand trembling, Tony reached for his chest. In a slow, decisive movement, he grasped the stone in his chest, and drew it out. 

A flash of white light enveloped the pair, a blinding white light. 

 

***

The next thing that Steve remembered was waking up with his arms wrapped around a much older, stronger Tony Stark. Taking hold of the other man's shoulders, he gently moved the man off of him. 

Still out, Tony sagged against his grasp. His face was pale and he was hardly dressed, his shirt ripped and torn from the armor (which was in pieces all around them). Apart from that, he seemed quite normal. 

 

 _Yep, it's definitely the Tony that I know_.

 

Somehow, Steve could feel himself blushing. Maybe it was the knowledge that he'd awakened _hugging_ the man...

It was as though someone had opened a floodgate of emotion inside of the super-soldier. 

 

_I hugged Tony Stark? Hugging the 'kid' version of him wasn't so bad... but adult Tony..._

 

Tony's eyes fluttered and Steve jumped back, promptly dropping the man on his face.

Face pressed to the ground, Tony stayed there for a moment, his eyes shut. 

"Aw Cap, what the _hell_..." He whispered, "am I dreaming? Or did I wake up and you were _hugging_ me."

Steve blushed and spluttered, his mind searching for  _something, anything_ to say.

Tony, meanwhile, continued to smile, his cheek to the tile floor, "now what did I do to deserve  _that_?" 

Grunting, the man pushed himself into a sitting position. 

"Man Cap, you look like crap!" He mused, grinning. 

Steve, still crimson, could only nod. 

 

Tony seemed to be fine. After a few minutes, he was already bustling around and grumbling about repairs. He had also, thankfully, put on a new shirt.

"I've contained the time-slips, that should solve all our problems," the genius said, leaning over the work table. He glanced back to where Steve stood. 

" _That was you, Tony_?" Sam asked over the open comm channel. 

"Well who else did you think of?" Came the reply from Tony.

" _That was still a mighty shot, Hawkeye_ ," Thor's voice boomed. 

"Ugh," Tony said, turning from the workspace, rolling his eyes.

" _Right_?" Clint replied.

 

Steve was embarrassed, but he couldn't really think of why he was feeling in such a way. 

 

_What's wrong with me? This doesn't happen to me..._

 

He jumped as Tony tapped him on the shoulder, the man looked up at him quizzically. 

"You okay Cap? You've been quiet ever since-"

"I'm fine," he replied, looking straight ahead. 

"You should get that eye patched up," said the genius, pointing at what was probably a beautiful-looking black eye on Steve's face. 

"I'll be fine!" Steve said, trying a smile.

Tony threw on one of those 'ok whatever you say' looks and turned back to the workstation, drawing out the time stone and placing it on the table. He got on the comms and called everyone in. 

Steve felt empty. That was the only way to explain it. It was the clash of emotions. Of duty, expectations, and personal emotion.

 

_Do I like Tony? Do I want to be more than friends? What... why.... why am I feeling this now?_

 

Even when all the other Avengers filed into the workshop, he still did not know what to make of the feelings. Instead of taking his usual position at the front of the de-briefing, he hung near the back and let Tony take over. The man kept giving him these looks though...

 

"You designed this when you were eight?" Sam gasped, holding up the plans to the 'Iron Kid' suit, "I should go through my old sketchbooks!" 

The young Avenger was surrounded by Thor, Hulk, and Clint, talking eagerly about the amazing qualities of Tony's invention. 

Steve had since come to stand next to Natasha and Tony, who were deep in discussion about the infinity stone. Neither of them paid him any attention and he liked it that way.

 

_The way Tony talks... the way he acts around everyone... the way he-_

_What?_

_Why am I thinking this?_

_Duty first._

_Duty..._

 

"One infinity stone down," Natasha was saying, "imagine if Thanos got his hands on this thing!" 

"He'd probably do worse than send me back to gradeschool!" Tony mused, his eyes glittering in the artificial light.

"Cap?" He asked. 

Steve shook his head, "hm? Oh yeah, definitely..." His voice trailed off and he looked away, embarrassed, "I'll ... go change, excuse me!" He exited the room, just in time to catch Clint on the way out. 

"Any clue why there's a bilgesnipe in our stairwell?" The archer asked, "he's making all sorts of weird noise-"

"WHO LET BILGY OUT OF MY ROOM?" Thor bellowed, and plowed through everyone to get through the doorway. 

Steve stepped back to let him pass and quietly slipped out after him. 

 

_Tony..._

  

* * *

 

_[6 hours later]_

Steve couldn't sleep. His emotions were wild and he had nothing to focus on. It was in that state that he found himself running through his training simulations. Hour after hour, he had trained, not so much for the 'improvement' but more to get his mind off of...

 

_Tony!_

 

The doors slid open with a soft hiss, admitting the man inside the training room. 

His heart leaping into his throat, Steve froze. 

 

_No! It's too soon! I haven't been able to think..._

_Too soon..._

 

"Jarvis, pause the training session!" He cried, lowering his shield. 

 

The orbs that had been above him, firing lasers, froze mid-air. 

Steve's heart raced as Tony came closer and closer to him. The genius didn't stop until they were about three feet apart. Crossing his arms, the man looked at Steve. 

"I thought that having a photographic memory meant that I'd never forget anything," Tony said, his voice trailing off at the end. 

"Tony Stark actually forgot something?" Steve tried for humor. He was trying not to smile for some reason. 

 

_Damn this is awkward..._

 

"How tough being a kid can be," Tony sighed, "you were right, the past can teach us something," the genius handed Steve a small, old picture. 

Upon seeing what it was, Steve's heart melted. After everything that he'd been through in one day... it was impossible to  _not_ smile after seeing it. 

There, printed in faded ink, was the young boy that Steve had protected. But something was different... instead of the grey shorts and T-shirt, or the red-gold armor of Iron Kid, the boy wore the red, white, and blue uniform of Captain America.

 

_My uniform._

 

 

"It can teach us something, like what being a hero is..." Tony continued, watching Steve's expression, "I made that shield myself, you know." 

There was something in Tony's expression...

 

_Does he like me too?_

 

The genius looked at the real shield and sighed, "it took forever."

Before he really could think about what he was doing, Steve held out his shield. He grinned shyly at Tony, heat rising in his face. 

"Here, I'll let you practice with the real thing," he managed, before forcefully returning his gaze to the picture. 

A hand took the shield from his own, gripping it firmly and feelingits surface wit a practiced touch. 

"You know, I could take this to the lab and have some improvements done," Tony started.

 

_Ok, I might have feelings for you, but you touch my shield and you'll..._

 

"Kidding... sort of..." Tony laughed, throwing up his hands, "I wouldn't do that to you!"

Steve smiled and Tony turned his back, "Jarvis, resume the training session."

Tony raised the shield and continued Steve's training session. He seemed at home there, the shield in hand, the lasers flying towards him. It seemed just like a dance.

 

Steve, watching from the sidelines, watched the man. He was doing remarkably well. The man was certainly full of surprises.

 

Thinking back to the ease that Tony talked to him, the way that they had each other's backs... 

 

Tony deflected a laser back at the robot, taking it out of play before rotating and throwing the shield at one that was sneaking up behind him. The man caught Steve's eye and winked.

 

Steve sighed.

 

_Maybe it's time that I found someone..._

**Author's Note:**

> \- I'd like everyone to know that this was probably one of the top 10 episodes from AA and that I am _not_ the only one to do a work of this kind. You may find that [ Veldeia](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5677657) has done a version of it as well (it's really good). Some of the scenes that I wrote/will write may seem similar, but I promise, there are some differences between our works. If anyone has any complaints, please contact me.
> 
>  
> 
> Work in the process of being edited -week of April 12th-
> 
> Sources: 
> 
> [Avengers Assemble Wiki Page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avengers_Assemble_\(TV_series\))
> 
>  
> 
> [Marvel Website](http://marvel.com/)
> 
> The Avengers Assemble TV Show
> 
> \- I do not use any third-party software to get dialogue, but rather spend the time to watch the Cartoon in small chunks until I have all the lines completely written down. Because of this, there may be minor dialogue changes in my work, compared to the actual show. 
> 
> _DISCLAIMER - All work, including most dialogue, characters, and plot, belong to their respective owners. I claim no rights. This work is based on Avengers Assemble Season 2, episode 7 - The Age of Tony Stark, written by Kevin Burke & Chris "Doc" Wyatt. More information regarding the TV show and official storyline can be found on the Avengers Assemble Wikipedia page [here](http://avengersassemble.wikia.com/wiki/The_Age_of_Tony_Stark)_


End file.
